System and method of vehicle system control

Abstract

A method for controlling a vehicle system includes determining a vehicle reference speed using an off-board-based input speed and an onboard-based input speed. The off-board-based input speed is representative of a moving speed of the vehicle system and is determined from data received from an off-board device. The onboard-based input speed is representative of the moving speed of the vehicle system and is determined from data obtained from an onboard device. The method includes using the vehicle reference speed to at least one of measure wheel creep for one or more wheels of the vehicle system or control at least one of torques applied by or rotational speeds of one or more motors of the vehicle system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 obtaining an onboard-based input speed and an off-board-based input speed of a vehicle system; and   controlling a torque of at least a first axle of the vehicle system based at least in part on a throttle setting of the vehicle system, the onboard-based input speed, and the off-board-based input speed.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a first vehicle reference speed of the vehicle system based on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed, wherein the torque is controlled based at least in part on the throttle setting and the first vehicle reference speed. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the onboard-based input speed is obtained from output of a speed sensor measuring a speed at which at least one axle of the vehicle system rotates and the off-board-based input speed is wirelessly obtained from one or more sources disposed off-board the vehicle system. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising calculating a scale factor based on one or more differences between the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed and determining a wheel size of the vehicle system based on the scale factor and a previously measured wheel size. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising controlling a torque of a second axle of the vehicle system based on the throttle setting and the onboard-based input speed of the vehicle system. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining wheel creep for one or more wheels of the vehicle system based at least in part on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising controlling a rotational speed of one or more motors of the vehicles system based at least in part on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the vehicle system comprises a rail vehicle consist having at least a propulsion-generating vehicle and a non-propulsion generating vehicle. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the onboard-based input speed is obtained from output of a speed sensor measuring a speed at which at least one axle of the vehicle system rotates and the off-board-based input speed is wirelessly obtained from one or more sources disposed off-board the vehicle system; and
 wherein the method further comprises determining a first vehicle reference speed of the vehicle system based on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed, wherein the torque is controlled based at least in part on the throttle setting and the first vehicle reference speed.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the onboard-based input speed is obtained from output of a speed sensor measuring a speed at which at least one axle of the vehicle system rotates and the off-board-based input speed is wirelessly obtained from one or more sources disposed off-board the vehicle system; and
 wherein the method further comprises calculating a scale factor based on one or more differences between the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed and determining a wheel size of the vehicle system based on the scale factor and a previously measured wheel size.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 controlling a torque of a second axle of the vehicle system based on the throttle setting and the onboard-based input speed of the vehicle system; and   determining a first vehicle reference speed of the vehicle system based on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed,   wherein the torque of the first axle of the vehicle system and the torque of the second axle of the vehicle system are controlled based at least in part on the throttle setting and the first vehicle reference speed.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining wheel creep for one or more wheels of the vehicle system based at least in part on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed, and controlling a rotational speed of one or more motors of the vehicles system based on the wheel creep that is determined. 
     
     
         13 . A method comprising:
 with one or more processors onboard a rail vehicle system, obtaining an onboard-based input speed and an off-board-based input speed of the rail vehicle system, wherein the onboard-based input speed is obtained from output of a speed sensor measuring a speed at which at least one axle of the rail vehicle system rotates and the off-board-based input speed is wirelessly obtained from one or more sources disposed off-board the rail vehicle system;   with the one or more processors, determining a first vehicle reference speed of the rail vehicle system based on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed;   with the one or more processors, controlling a torque of a first axle of the rail vehicle system based at least in part on the throttle setting and the first vehicle reference speed; and   with the one or more processors, controlling a torque of a second axle of the rail vehicle system based on the throttle setting and the onboard-based input speed of the rail vehicle system.   
     
     
         14 . A system comprising:
 one or more processors configured to obtain an onboard-based input speed and an off-board-based input speed of a vehicle system, the one or more processors also configured to control a torque of at least a first axle of the vehicle system based at least in part on a throttle setting of the vehicle system, the onboard-based input speed, and the off-board-based input speed.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more processors also are configured to determine a first vehicle reference speed of the vehicle system based on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed, wherein the one or more processors are configured to control the torque based at least in part on the throttle setting and the first vehicle reference speed. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the onboard-based input speed from output of a speed sensor measuring a speed at which at least one axle of the vehicle system rotates, the one or more processors configured to wirelessly obtain the off-board-based input speed from one or more sources disposed off-board the vehicle system. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to control a torque of a second axle of the vehicle system based on the throttle setting and the onboard-based input speed of the vehicle system. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the vehicle system comprises a rail vehicle consist having at least a propulsion-generating vehicle and a non-propulsion generating vehicle. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the onboard-based input speed from output of a speed sensor measuring a speed at which at least one axle of the vehicle system rotates, the one or more processors configured to wirelessly obtain the off-board-based input speed from one or more sources disposed off-board the vehicle system; and
 wherein the one or more processors also are configured to determine a first vehicle reference speed of the vehicle system based on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed, wherein the one or more processors are configured to control the torque based at least in part on the throttle setting and the first vehicle reference speed.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the onboard-based input speed from output of a speed sensor measuring a speed at which at least one axle of the vehicle system rotates, the one or more processors configured to wirelessly obtain the off-board-based input speed from one or more sources disposed off-board the vehicle system; and
 wherein the one or more processors are configured to control a torque of a second axle of the vehicle system based on the throttle setting and the onboard-based input speed of the vehicle system.